Obama: 'I Would Be Beside Myself' if My Kids Lived in Flint

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Jan. 20, 2016, 10:35 PM GMT / Updated Jan. 20, 2016, 10:36 PM GMT

By Jon Schuppe

President Obama pledged Wednesday to cover "all of the people of Flint's backs" as the Michigan city struggles with the pollution of its drinking water.

Speaking in nearby Detroit, Obama digressed briefly from remarks on the auto industry to share his outrage with the unfolding crisis, in which lead has leached into the water piped into thousands of Flint homes.

"I know that if I was a parent up there, I would be beside myself that my kids' health could be at risk," Obama said.

Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint on Saturday, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deliver bottled water, water filters and home test kits, a supplement to local efforts already underway.

Back when the water supply was swapped, Residents immediately began complaining about the taste, smell and appearance of the water, but officials said the water was safe. Tests later found elevated lead levels in the blood of local children — the result of an insufficient treatment process that left the water highly corrosive, causing lead to leach from pipes.